The Social Role of the Literary Translator

Abstract

“I am myself and my circumstance”. This was the mostillustrative statement of Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset’s insightinto the human intellect, found in “Meditaciones del Quijote” [Meditationson Quixote],the writer’s first essay, published in 1914. Ortega’s aphorism lends itselfrather harmoniously to the concept of “translator” as a product of his elementand “translation” as a socio-cultural product of his design. But how do we establish where art begins andends? We hardly ever can. The translator is an amalgam of what he produces andwhat he is a product of, of what he can and cannot control. Ever more so inliterature: a fruitful example of how liberties and compromises are hard tocircumscribe, where “art” can be as vague a notion as the limits of one’sexceptionality.

Throughout the translating process, translators haveit in their hands to deal with three simultaneous occurrences: that which theyare powerless to control (Circumstance),as Ortega pointed out; that which they can somewhat control (Knowledge); and that which they havethe ability to influence, and ultimately shape (Practice). Translating literature can bring the translatorinternational exposure, merit and recognition, where his translation conquestsand losses are on show to the biggest audience. There is no bigger test to thetranslator’s ability to bring together reality and the imaginary than throughthe vehicle of literature.